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Silver doesn't like trade demands despite 'enormous media interest'

Streeter Lecka / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Public trade requests were a major topic at Adam Silver's All-Star Weekend press conference in Charlotte on Saturday.

The NBA commissioner doesn't like the way some recent decisions have been handled.

"I would just say, blanketedly, no, I don't like trade demands, and I wish they didn't come, and I wish all those matters were handled behind closed doors," Silver said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

Anthony Davis' future with the New Orleans Pelicans generated discussion ahead of the Feb. 7 trade deadline. With the superstar big man's camp telegraphing his desire for a fresh start, the public request immediately complicated the Pelicans' ability to make a deal.

The NBA fined Davis $50,000 "for statements that were made by Davis' agent, Rich Paul, in an intentional effort to undermine the contractual relationship between Davis and the Pelicans."

While the rumor mill leading up to the deadline rivaled the start of free agency in both its breadth and intensity, Silver evidently doesn't subscribe to the adage that all press is good press.

"I think, when they make a public spectacle of it, I hear you in terms of the enormous media interest that comes from it, but that's not the kind of media interest we're looking for," Silver added.

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